Men's Golf

Men's golf places fifth, cracks national rankings

Giovanni Chiappano (Larry Newman Photography)

Feb 16, 2014

LA VERNE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's golf team finished fifth in last weekend's two-round SCIAC No. 1 tournament at Sierra Lakes Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday. Chapman finished 37 strokes back of tournament-winning Redlands, as the Panthers ended the weekend with a total score of 597 on the par-72 course.

The Panthers were led by junior Giovanni Chiappano who finished the weekend three over par, which was good enough for a 10th-place tie. Chiappano shot an opening-round par (72) and a final round score of 75, giving him a total of 147 on the weekend.

Freshman Bryan Wise, who led Chapman to a first-place tie in the Panthers' first event of the season, finished the weekend for 18th. Wise shot a 74 on Saturday and finished the tournament Sunday with a score of 76, bringing his team-leading average score this season to 72.3.

The tournament featured four nationally-ranked teams highlighted by No.1 Redlands and No.3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

As a result, the Panthers cracked this week's Division III Top-25 for the first time in school history, as Chapman now ranks 21st in the nation.

The Panthers will tee off against Cal Lutheran in a conference dual match on Feb. 27 at Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark.